Mark Jackson on the Warriors’ Game 1 mistakes, why Bogut was out, his confidence in Jack, and more

SAN ANTONIO–Right to the partial transcript of Mark Jackson’s briefing with the media after Warriors practice today at the AT&T Center, not too many hours after the Warriors blew a 16-point lead and lost Game 1.

* Note: I was talking to Andrew Bogut and missed the first few minutes of Jackson’s availability and this picks up right in the middle of Jackson’s session.

—-MARK JACKSON partial gaggle transcript/

-Q: Did you guys think that Klay Thompson could defend like this when you drafted him? Was that at all his reputation?

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-JACKSON: No, because that wasn’t… I think credit has to be given to my incredible staff and also to Klay, how hard he works and how much pride he takes in being a big-time defender.

-Q: Do you go back over the tape to find the things you could’ve done or is that not healthy right now?

-JACKSON: No, it’s absolutely healthy. You’ve got to take a look at the tape and see the mistakes that were made across the board and adjustments that could be made and how in the world we gave up a lead.

-Q: So what happened?

-JACKSON: I think overall, you miss free throws, you don’t value possessions, you throw away a possession offensively, you don’t get back in transition, you don’t pay attention to detail defensively, you give up a three, you have breakdowns.

If you can take those plays back and force them to beat us on our terms, it’s a different story. We’ve got to value every possession offensively and defensively.

-Q: How do you think Jarrett Jack played in those last few minutes?

-JACKSON: He’s a gamer and he competed. I thought he handled it well. Like everybody else, made some mistakes. But he’s a gamer and he’s hard on himself.

But I thought he made some plays offensively that stopped the bleeding and defensively competed.

-Q: Any question in your mind that Jack’s getting the ball to close the next game you have a lead?

-JACKSON: Well, he’s going to have the basketball at times. And especially the way they defended Steph. They forced the ball out of his hands at times, they kept a big body on him at times–not trying to influence anybody.

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And Jarrett is going to have the basketball and is going to have to be a play maker for us and we’re totally fine with that.

-Q: Last night Steph suggested there wasn’t enough movement on offense. Did you see it the same way?

-JACKSON: You can fall in love with the performance he was having–22 points in the third quarter, having his way, almost at times like a high school game where you stood and watched a guy.

I don’t think it was so much the movement. I think at times guys caught the basketball not ready to take and make shots. You give the Spurs that second to recover, they’re there. And a good shot is no longer a possibility.

So I think it’s important for our guys to be ready, to stay aggressive, even when Steph is in the midst of an incredible performance.

-Q: You’re taking some heat for your moves in the fourth quarter–on Twitter or wherever. Always happens. But have you seen it? Do you care?

JACKSON: I don’t care about that. People are entitled to their opinion. I’m not buying into it.

Coach Popovich is an all-time coach. Even when he was down 16, to me I wasn’t questioning anything he did. I gave credit to what we did.

I’m not caught up in that. At the end of the day, I’m coaching this basketball team and we’ve got a heckuva chance to compete and beat a prepared basketball team.

-Q: Did you see the SI cover?

-JACKSON: I did see–somebody sent it to me. With Steph? Yes.

-Q: Cool honor for you guys?

-JACKSON: I wasn’t on there. (Laughs.) It was special and great to see. You think about all the things that have changed with this basketball team, it’s just well-deserved because at the end of the day it’s about these guys and they deserve to be recognized for the team that they are and for the individuals that they are.

-Q: Any decisions you’d do differently?

-JACKSON: We make our free throws, we take care of the basketball, we get back defensively and we execute game plan discipline when it matters most defensively.

I mean, at the end of the day, that’s what hurt us. The film tells me that and watching it over and over again tells me that. We had break downs and we can’t afford to do that against this basketball team.

-Q: Is part of the deal that you’re a shooting team, as you say, it’s a make-or-miss league… and you’ll go up and down as your shots either go in or don’t?

-JACKSON: We are a shooting team and this a make-or-miss league. There are points where the way they defended Steph, they’re daring him to beat them penetrating.

They’re playing him above the three-point line, and he’s going to have to pick and choose his spots of when to shoot it and when to put his head down and make plays for himself and for others.

I thought he did a great job for the most part of doing that. But we’ve got to continue it.

-JACKSON: Yes. At that point, I believe it was maybe five minutes to go, they got into the bonus and I’m sure that’s what they would’ve done. So the decision was made to take him out and eliminate that from the equation.

I’m not worried about him making or missing shots. I also thought we had a cushion and we could defend because they were going small. So I would probably say that was a bigger part of it–not having Tim Duncan on the floor for them. We went small.

-Q: What went into having Steph play almost every second? Was it pre-planned or was it the flow of the game?

-JACKSON: It was flow. He said he felt fine. He had a fresh body. And I think at the end of the day you can steal minutes for him where it’s not demanding on his body for 50-whatever minutes because he’s guarding spot-up shooters in the corner. So it’s not like he’s guarding Tony Parker all the time.

So it’s a different 57 minutes or so than Tony Parker’s, where he’s in the action every minute that he’s on the floor.

-Q: You ever see a guy take 35 shots and only two free throws (like Curry did)?

-JACKSON: That wasn’t a part of it. I thought Bogut played Diaw very well, not allowing him air space, he can hurt you shooting the long ball and pick-and-roll situations.

And I thought Festus did a very good job defending Tim setting the tone early.

-Q: Is the reasoning just to get another big body on Duncan before you put Bogut on him?

-JACKSON: Yes. Obviously we have Andrew and he’s our best defender on Duncan. But Tim is Tim, you can play great D and he can spectacular.

But just want to use a big body to make him work early on, and then at some point make the switch.

-Q: How were you able to score with two non-shooters on the floor at the same time?

-JACKSON: You think about what you have… Bogut can make plays, so he can score and he can also read and make plays out of our action. And then you’ve got two guys that are going to set great screens and going to create openings for Steph, Klay and Harrison.

Scoring wasn’t an issue for us last night. When you look at our offensive numbers, that wasn’t the issue at all.

I’m not going to go all in on Jackson like many have. I like that he’s our coach and he’s entitled to some mistakes.

However, to admit the foul-Bogut strategy is a reason he held him out is indefensible. For one, you’re letting the opposition dictate your lineup. Two, that strategy rarely ever works. Three, for a team to come back from a large deficit, you need some flow to the game, and points in spurts/transition. It’s hard to do that when the opposition is shooting free throws and is allowed to set up their half-court defense. Finally, any player fouled intentionally in the final two minutes means anybody can shoot the free throws.

I really hope the hack-a-Bogut didn’t affect his strategy because that’s a major flaw.

That Man

Still a bit depressed. But, I am confident these fellas will get it done. Game 1 vs the Nuggets was another depressing (though not on the Spurs scale) last second loss, the the Dubs came through big time in game 2.
The Warriors looked like a much better team for most of the game. Jackson had a great gameplan-twin towers to start the game, small ball when Duncan wasn’t out there, good screens to get Curry open looks, etc. The mob calling for his head is out of line. Yes, that last 4 minutes was a major choke job, and part of that lies on his shoulders. But also, the players did not execute. Missing free throws, turnovers, bad shots. ugh.

DubsDubs

This loss’s definitely on MJax. He doesn’t have any clue at the end of the game and it’s not the 1st time

Clyde Frazier

MJ is not the reason they lost. Missed free throws, missed assignments, turnovers all fall on the players. During the comeback, the Spurs were relentless going to the rim and when KT fouled out, TP just took over. The dubs are young and still inexperienced when it comes to playoff basketball. The Spurs are well seasoned and their point guard is one of the very best. He brought them back. Perhaps MJ could have called a play or two down low for Bogut (since the Spurs went small) in those last few minutes, but the team is what it is: Play solid D, grab the board then up tempo on offense.

Marc

I think it’s funny that all the know it all people on here seem to think that Coach Jackson told his players to turn the ball over down the stretch and for RJ to miss his FTs that would have sealed the game.

The bottom line is that the players on the floor didn’t execute down the stretch. It’s their job to execute and a coach can only do so much.